Exclusive Song Premiere: ‘Vagabond Dreamer,’ The Interest Group

The Interest Group is a project comprised of Philadelphia-based songwriter/production team Marissa Lesnick and Yohsuke Araki. Together, the duo create wistful pop that is self-consciously out of step with the times. The latest release from the band is “Vagabond Dreamer,” the gorgeous b-side from the duo’s new The Passenger 7″. By mixing delicately plucked Spanish guitar and sepia-toned harmonies, the duo conjure a palpable feeling of timeless cool. (It’s easy to envision the song’s protagonists smoking cigarettes and wearing tastefully retro overcoats.)

“The thing about ‘Vagabond Dreamer’ is that lyrically it was written through stream of consciousness, yet it’s a story,” says Araki, who wrote the track. (It was produced and sung by both members.) “I like to think that the two characters in the song were meant for each other, even though they might just be on their own paths for the rest of their lives.”

Lesnick views the song in similarly wistful terms. “To me, ‘Vagabond Dreamer’ is about falling in and out of love and seeing life through others’ eyes,” she says. Both band members focus on the track’s autumnal imagery, with Araki saying that the song  “[feels] universal… [to] anywhere that experiences a typical autumn.” Lesnick points to the lines “And I can see you’re strange / Right through those autumn leaves that I’ve learned to love / That I’ve learned to see,” as a favorite part of the track for her. “We can all end up in similar situations with different individuals,” she says. “Life moves in pattern.”

THE PASSENGER 7″ IS AVAILABLE NOW VIA STRATOSFEAR AND DIGITALLY VIA ITUNES. FOR MORE ON THE BAND, VISIT THEIR FACEBOOK.